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Psionics (TWBH)
' Psionics' as a field of study is not fully understood by modern scientists, as the only races to have fully understood the concept appear to have been destroyed during the Last Great Time War. This being said, significant progress has been made in studying the causes and effects of psionic reactions. This article exists in an attempt to summarize all relevant information on the phenomenon. Overview Psionics, in layman's terms, can be defined as the ability to alter reality by the power of thought alone. This ability can manifest in a number of different ways, including telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, and empathic manipulation. All psychic powers are collectively referred to as "psionic reactions." Psionic reactions rely upon two major factors--'energy' and image. Energy Energy refers to the raw power consumed during a psionic reaction. This power is essential to the successful performance of a psionic reaction. Often simplistically called "psychic energy", a term more widely accepted within the scientific community is "Grayling energy", after the woman who invested a significant amount of time and resources into the study of the psychic phenomenon. Grayling energy appears to be generated by the minds of sapient beings, and forms an invisible medium which blankets the surface of planets and fills the space between stars. Image The brains of psychic individuals are unique in that instead of producing Grayling energy, they consume it. Their minds serve as a filter for the energy, channeling it into productive forms and goals. Most Psionic Entities accomplish this by forming a strong mental image of their desired goal. For instance, a telekinetic individual is capable of moving objects with the power of thought. To move a chair, the telekinetic would merely visualize the chair as moving to the desired location, and would then channel Grayling energy to accomplish the task. Classification of Psionic Entities Psionic Entities represent a wide variety of lifeforms within the Mutter's Spiral galaxy alone. A tentative classification system has been proposed in order to categorize and identify such beings when encountered. Sentences written in bold represent the strict definition of a type. Type Alpha Entities are considered the weakest class of Psionic Entities. Beings falling into this category possess only low-level telepathic or empathic abilities, incapable of manipulating reality in more dramatic ways. They can be explained as causing "ripples" through the medium of Grayling energy rather than actively channeling it. * A Type Alpha Psionic Entity is a being capable of communicating or monitoring its environment through extrasensory means, while incapable of directly altering its environment. Type Beta Entities possess a slightly greater degree of power over their environment. This classification includes the bulk of telekinetic or clairvoyant individuals. * A Type Beta Psionic Entity is a being capable of altering its environment through extrasensory means. Type Gamma Entities are capable of a wide range of psionic reactions. A major distinguishing feature of Type Gammas is that they are able to effect the Grayling energy of other beings, allowing them to perform feats such as possession and triggering insanity. Some are without physical forms of their own, existing as pure consciousness. The Great Intelligence and House are examples of this variety. * A Type Gamma Psionic Entity is a being capable of manipulating or hijacking the Grayling energy of other beings, or of altering its environment on a planetary scale. Type Delta Entities are among the most powerful beings in existence, capable of destroying universes with a mere thought. The last known entity to fit the criteria of a Type Delta was the Nightmare Child, presumably destroyed during the Last Great Time War. * A Type Delta Psionic Entity is a being capable of creating and destroying universes, and altering reality on a large enough scale so as to rewrite every law of nature. Examples Psionic reactions take a variety of forms. Telekinesis is the power to move objects with one's mind. Telepathy is the instantaneous transmission of thoughts and memories without external forms of communication. Clairvoyance grants individuals the ability to peer the Time Vortex, allowing them slight knowledge of the future. Most species, such as humans, are not innately psychic. Rare individuals may be born with such powers, but the average specimen is not capable of sustaining a psionic reaction with Grayling energy. Other races, such as the Time Lords of Gallifrey, are almost always born with psychic ability. Crystals from Metebelis III are capable of radically enhancing psychic power by acting as an amplifier of Grayling energy. Psionic Powers Psionic reactions take a variety of forms, determined by a variety of factors regarding the psychic's physiology and psychology. Some are considered more powerful--and thus, more dangerous--then others. *''Telekinesis'' is the ability to move objects with one's mind. Further categorizations of the ability exist. *''Telepathy'' is the ability to transmit mental messages into the minds of other entities. *''Empathy'' is sometimes considered a sub-branch of telepathy. It is defined as the ability to sense the emotions of others through psychic means. *''Clairvoyance'' is the ability to to peer into the Time Vortex, thus perceiving the past, present, and future to a limited extent. *''Animation'' is related to telekinesis, but with larger implications. It is defined as the ability to channel Grayling energy into inanimate objects, thus creating animated constructs under a Psionic Entity's control. Type Alpha Psionic Entities Time Lords such as the Doctor are classified as Type Alpha entities. Emma Grayling, the discoverer and namesake of Grayling energy, was an empathic psychic capable of sensing the emotions of those around her. She classified herself as a Type Alpha Psionic Entity. The Ood are a prime example of a Type Alpha species reliant upon psionic reactions for everyday existence. Ood brains are considered to be "vacuums" of Grayling energy--they neither produce nor consume the energy naturally, and will attempt to synchronize with the most powerful nearby source of the power. This results in a natural hive mind society, headed by the Ood Brain (an unusually powerful Type Alpha Entity). Type Beta Psionic Entities The Mentiads of Zanak were classified as Type Beta, having absorbed some of the Grayling energy which saturated other planets. The Silents produce a "bubble" of Grayling energy around themselves, preventing other beings of forming memories of them. Worth noting is that the Silents do not appear capable of deliberately manipulating Grayling energy or the minds of other beings, instead using purely psychological means of subliminal messaging to control victims. They are also capable of a unique form of electric amplification. Type Gamma Psionic Entities The Nestene Consciousness possesses the ability to breathe life into inanimate objects using its own psychic powers. It appears to be capable of using plastic materials as receptacles of Grayling energy, thus bending them to its own will. The Great Intelligence and House are examples of this variety. The Great Intelligence in particular is notable for its diet--it consumed the "souls" of sapient beings, in reality absorbing Grayling energy from sapient hosts. Although little is known of the "Midnight entity", it has been tentatively classified as belonging to Type Gamma. The planet Krop Tor was home to the Beast, an exceptionally powerful Type Gamma Entity. This example is notable for having been successfully contained on Krop Tor, apparently apprehended before the current universe by the Disciples of the Light. Type Delta Psionic Entities Extremely few beings of this category are known. The Dalek Emperor's Nightmare Child was a being of this scale, but fortunately appears to have been destroyed during the Last Great Time War. Some researchers have proposed the Guardians of Time and the Bad Wolf as Type Delta Entities, but scientific consensus is that these are entirely different in nature. An increasingly alarming number of reports have surfaced hinting that Type Delta entities may lurk within the Void. Blessedly, they remain entirely unconfirmed. Appearances Psionics is the primary theory of psychic manifestation within at least two universes, known colloquially as "Heroes World" and "Rainha's World". The laws governing Psionics can effectively describe a multitude of abnormal powers within a variety of universes.